Progreso's power trio behind bars for now

People gather at the McAllen federal building for the hearing for Progreso Mayor Omar Vela, his brother and school board President Michael Vela, and their dad, Jose Guadalupe Vela Jr.

Photo: Delcia Lopez / For the Express-News

McALLEN — The mayor of Progreso, the president of the Progreso school board and the schools' director of maintenance and transportation — all members of the Vela family — remained in jail Wednesday while a federal judge decided whether to release them on bail after they were charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, theft and bribery.

Progreso Mayor Omar Vela, 35, his brother and Progreso Independent School District board President Michael Vela, 29, and their father, Jose Guadalupe Vela Jr., 64, who is employed by the school district, were arrested last week in what FBI investigators described as a “pay-to-play” public contracting scheme.

FBI special agent Ricardo Ale testified in federal court Wednesday that the three men dominated local government through intimidation and retaliation.

“I think the ultimate goal was control,” he said.

Ale described how Jose Vela, maintenance and transportation director for the school district, was able to punish his boss, Superintendent Fernando Castillo, after Castillo had fallen out of favor with the family.

One school board resolution confined Castillo to his office between 8 a.m and 5 p.m.; the board also prohibited him from teaching outside the district, even on his own time.

For a time, the superintendent was barred from participating in school board meetings, or even attending at one point.

When Ale complained to the school district attorney that Castillo, who had been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in Houston, was being targeted by the Velas, Ale testified that the lawyer responded: “Of course he is.”

To monitor Jose Vela's unannounced visits to the administration building, Castillo had security cameras installed in his office's reception area.

The Velas, who have been in custody since Aug. 28, appeared defiant in court as their attorneys argued the men were not a flight risk and should be released on bond.

Ale outlined the Velas' alleged system of bribes that dated to 2005. Ale said companies hoping to do with business with the school district or the city had to pay the defendants bribes and kickbacks.

In all, the FBI collected more than 40 recordings of purported deals between the Velas and a construction company, an architectural firm, a supply company and a local attorney.

A business Ale referred to as “the construction company,” allegedly kept a ledger that specified names, dates and amounts of bribes it had paid to cities and school districts across the Rio Grande Valley, including $85,000 to the Velas to win government contracts in Progreso.

In another scheme, Ale said the Velas developed a fictitious invoicing system in which supplies were ordered but never delivered. Instead, the supply company would cash checks from the district, totaling $2,200, and return most of the money to Omar Vela, holding on to a percentage for tax purposes.

Jose Vela, the family patriarch, also controlled the school board, handpicking candidates and bankrolling their campaigns. But when board members questioned his wishes, Jose Vela could be ruthless. On one occasion, he ordered that a board member's car run off the road and assaulted, Ale said.

As the FBI stepped up its investigation, conducting interviews with school employees — often with Jose Vela standing just outside the door — the FBI brought a backup unit along on visits.

Each of the three defendants has his own attorney, and each could pursue a separate legal strategy, said Ricardo L. Salinas, Michael Vela's attorney.

In Salinas' view, his client was young at the time the investigation began, and his behavior likely was influenced by his father.

“What our parents tell us has a big effect on us,” Salinas said. Bribes “are so common here that people seem to think they're OK.”

Outside the courtroom, Salinas said his client is weighing the option of accepting responsibility for the charges against him, adding that Michael Vela already has expressed a willingness to resign as school board president.

Earlier this week, the City Council and the school board each held emergency meetings to discuss possible action against Omar and Michael, respectively, but neither body met the required quorum.

In the meantime, to avoid the appearance of impropriety, Salinas has instructed his client to distance himself from the rest of the family, but with several of the Vela siblings living in separate houses on an 8-acre spread, the tight-knit clan might find it difficult to steer clear of one another.

Salinas said he advised his client's family members that they'd have to segregate themselves “to put to rest any idea of shenanigans going on. But if you are going to talk, it better be about something else.”

As for Castillo, he made no attempt to mask his concern that the Velas could be released on bond. For now, he is focused on his job running the district.

Aaron Nelsen is based in McAllen and is responsible for covering the Rio Grande Valley. Before joining the San Antonio Express-News in 2013, he was a freelance reporter and the TIME Magazine correspondent in Chile. He has also been a staff writer for the Brownsville Herald.